1. Summer Public Lecture & DVD: Hubble
Space Telescope Operator Speaking in Dublin This
Monday
Getting
time on the most expensive telescope ever built is a rare privilege that
Irishman Dr. Brian
Espey has managed to achieve and at our Summer Public
Lecture this Monday, May 10th, he will tell you how he used the 5
billion euro telescope to probe Red Giant stars. Stars with
masses similar to our own Sun pass through an evolutionary Red
Giant stage towards the end of their lives, producing significant quantities processed gas in the form of
a stellar wind. In his lecture, Dr. Espey will describe the Red Giant stage in the evolution of a
star, and the effects that these strong cosmic winds within our
Universe have on the planets of our solar
system.
Click HERE for an
impressive visual aid which compares the size of our own star, the Sun, to
Red Giants, Betelgeuse and Antares.
For more information about this public event
click HERE.
The lecture takes
place at 8pm in the SNIAM Building, Trinity College Dublin (MAP
HERE), on Monday, May 10. All are welcome to attend.
For anyone who can't make it on the
night, a DVD of the talk is available to order
online.
The
International Space Station (ISS), visible in
Irish skies until May 14, will be seen to pass on front
of Mars from different parts of the
country tonight. To receive a message to
your mobile with further details, including the time to see
ISS, simply text SPACE to 57003 (reply STOP
to unsubscribe). Each text costs 1euro, and only one message will be sent
per day. Proceeds help to promote interest in astronomy across Ireland.
Mars is located
high in the south-west this week.
Venus is in the
west, glowing brilliantly, and a telescope will show it to be in a gibbous
phase.
Saturn is the
south and well placed for viewing.
For more information on what to see in
the night sky this week check out the Sky Diary section in
the March issue of 'Astronomy &
Space' magazine.
Don't forget to email what you see to observe@astronomy.ie
and we will try to publish your pictures and observations in
forthcoming issues of the magazine.
3. BBC's The Sky At
Night
This month's instalment of the BBC's
The Sky At Night programme will
be repeated this Saturday, May 8, at 2:45pm (England, Scotland & Wales) and
6:10pm (Northern Ireland). Saturn is one of the largest planets and the
beautiful system of rings surrounding it makes it the most distinctive in the
solar system. But how were the rings formed and what effect do Saturn's many
moons have upon them? Sir Patrick Moore is joined by Professor Michele Dougherty
and Professor Carl Murray to discuss this, while Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel
demonstrate the best way to observe Saturn during the month of May.
For more information click HERE.
Many of you will
remember our fascinating public lecture last October by Professor Carl
Murray who gave a marvellous insight into the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn,
and provided us with breathtaking pictures of the ringed planet, sent back
to earth by the probe. To order a DVD of this talk click HERE.